Thursday, May 31, 2018

Day 18 - Human Rights Museum and Sore Feet

When I wake up at 7:30 I know Bernie needs to sleep. He was up from 3 to 4:30 and needs his sleep now. Usually it is I that is up in the middle of the night and Bernie lets me sleep in. So I am okay today waiting for him.

We get moving around 10 am. Today we are walking. Our first stop is Stella's Bakery. It came recommended from a friend and it was very yummy. So I enjoyed a latte and a chocolate croissant.We keep walking towards down town. It is around a 30 minute walk and it feels good to be out of the car.

Here is the Provincial Legislature.

One place I have really been looking forward to on this trip is visiting the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. It has been open only a few years and I am so excited about visiting today.

First of the building itself is stunning. The building was designed by architect Antoine Predock and intended every part of the building to have meaning for human rights.

The outside is made of glass which they call the cloud because it reflects the Winnipeg sky.

exhibit for same sex marriage

this exhibit represents the murder and missing indigenous women along Yellowhead Highway

There 7 exhibit floors and moving thru each floor was such a beautiful experience. I was moved emotionally at every turn. Some things made me happy, some things sad. I basically went thru every emotion. But I left with hope.

I was so impressed with the exhibits and how they were presented. Lots of videos, displays, participating activities.

large exhibit about the Holocaust

I had installed the App prior to visiting and it was a nice app but it kept crashing and stalling. Bernie got so fed up with the app that he just forgot all about it. So one negative was the app. But other than that I thought it was amazing.

The staff there are wonderful too. So helpful. In fact when Bernie and I met back up at the end of the day here he commented that many staff were always offering assistance and offering to restart a video in English if necessary. He ended up talking to many of them.

A few years ago I use to facilitate a week long Human Right's Course for my union. I use to teach members all across Canada. So none of the information in the museum was new to me but I certainly learned more about some events.When we finally leave it is 2:30 pm! Boy time flew by.We are hungry and we head to a restaurant nearby that faces The Forks called The Smith. Bernie said this place had the best Moscow Mules every. The food was good too but service was really lacking.

After our meal we walk around the sites at The Forks where the Assiniboine and Red River meet.

Long before Europeans arrived The Forks was a traditional Indigenous Peoples' stopping place for camping, gathering provisions and trading with other First Nations.

these structures when looking from the center below you can look up and spot the constellations in the night sky

In the 19th and 20th centuries The Forks was a staging point for fur trade, exploration, and settlement. It served as the yards of major railways including the Canadian Northern, The Grand Trunk and the Canadian National Railway.

The small settlement of Winnipeg grew into the principal metropolitan centre of Western Canada and became Canada's gateway to the West.

so Canadian! Art made of hockey sticks

We walk back to our apartment along the Assiniboine River and it is very apparent that the low level walkway was flooded recently - later I find out it was back in April. Boy it went high and the mud and debris left behind means we need to clean our shoes when we get back.

Oh and while walking we spot two young adults fishing! We even chatted with them a bit but I totally forgot to get a picture but I swear I did see them.Back at the apartment we are both beat. We have log 15,000 steps! We are not really hungry for dinner so we just eat what we have in the fridge. Toast and some cheese and some left over salad.We have not travelled today so nothing to report. But I did add two items to the scavenger list. Linda suggested sea glass and lobster to the list.

Here is our scavenger hunt list today:

Moose

Deer

Hitchhiker

Eagle/Hawk

Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in. So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta. British Columbia Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory

Skunk - saw a dead one

Sheep

Beaver

Goslings

Buffalo

Goat

Owl

Bear

Loon

Crane

Prairie Dog

Fisherman fishing

Canoe

Hummingbird

Antique car on the road

Old VW Bug

Car broken down on the side of the road

Helicopter on the ground

Airplane on the ground

Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own

Ambulance with sirens on

Dump truck

Line painting crew at work

Mail delivery person walking their route

Cruise Ship (from Janice and Jim)

Coyote

RCMP officer

Hop on Hop off Bus

Sea Glass

Lobster

If you have any items you think we should add to our scavenger hunt list, let us know.